DONNA – A group of high school students held an event honoring the late Cesar Chavez, who was the founder of the United Farm Workers Association.

Many of the students grew up on the migrant farms and worked in the fields.  Samantha Guillen is part of a student coalition called Children of the Fields. Guillen and the group raised the money to put the event together for Cesar Chavez Day.

During the celebration, the Donna students set up informational booths. Every time a child got a Chavez fact correct, they won a prize. Guillen says, "A lot of people see him as just a guy, a Mexican guy. They don’t see why he did this. He’s like our Martin Luther King."

Guillen began working in the migrant fields when she was eight years old. Her family picked strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. She says she can relate to Chavez.  She says "It’s really hard being a migrant, because you travel from one place to another. You can’t really learn right. I would have to leave my studies behind to go to work."

Right now, there’s a bill in the Texas House of Representatives that could change laws pertaining to child migrant workers. Officials are trying to change child labor laws to protect the children who work in the fields and other industries. Lawmakers are working to change the age limits for child migrant workers. They say some Texas children as young as 10 years old are seen picking in the fields. They also want to change the minimum wage payment and  environmental conditions.

Samantha Guillen hopes the next generation of migrant child workers won’t have to deal with the same conditions she and others had to endure.